Vauxhall Wins Community Outreach Award

11-Nov-2014

Vauxhall is the proud recipient of the 2014 Community Outreach Award, presented last week at the annual Northwest Automotive Alliance awards ceremony.

The award recognises commitment to the wider community, including young people and educators, to promote the manufacturing and engineering industries and the many career opportunities they can offer. As well as engaging with future engineers and leaders, the award also takes into consideration an employer’s Corporate Social Responsibility activities.

Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant was able to demonstrate that community outreach is embedded at every level of the organisation, and is a focal point in its UK business plan and HR strategies. Additionally, its ever-growing partnerships with local education providers and Trade Union colleagues further enable the company to change perceptions, grow talent and help safeguard the future of UK manufacturing.

Phil Millward, HR Director at Vauxhall said, ‘In order to build a better community and support the everyday challenges of life, business has a critical role to play. This award reflects the time and energy invested by Vauxhall and the immense satisfaction gained from doing so’.

The following achievements and initiatives were applauded by the Northwest Automotive Alliance:

The Vauxhall Apprenticeship programme, which continues to go from strength to strength. The company now employs nearly 40 technical and commercial apprentices at Ellesmere Port. A number of Vauxhall apprentices have been nominated for or presented with various accolades over the last year, including Student of the Year and Award for Excellence.

Vauxhall undergraduates act as ambassadors for careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and, in the last year, have visited over 15 schools in the north-west, delivering the Vauxhall schools project to over 1,600 students.

Over 200 students and teaching staff from local schools and colleges attended Vauxhall’s See Inside Manufacturing event in October 2013. This event is held annually to raise awareness of the manufacturing environment and the many career paths it can offer.

Over 30 local schoolchildren have already visited the plant on a work experience placement during 2014.

Vauxhall was highly commended in the national Partnership with Education award at the EEF Future Manufacturing Awards, 2013.

Vauxhall’s UK Corporate Social Responsibility programme was launched in 2013 and, already, over 110 Ellesmere Port employees have taken the opportunity to support a community project in 2014, contributing almost 1,000 hours of their time to helping worthwhile causes.

Vauxhall’s hard work and dedication to the community continues. Already this year, the plant has held a highly successful Open Day and the 2014 See Inside Manufacturing event. In 2015, Vauxhall will launch the next-generation Astra and welcome 300 new hires into the business.